F 



^ 



The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick' 

in Albany ] 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SOME CELEBRATIONS 

OF ST. PATRICK:S DAY IN ALBANY, N. Y., IN THE 

EARLY PART OF THE XIXth CENTURY. 



a paper read by 

Hon. franklin M: DANAHER 

at the fifth annual banquet of the friendly 

sons of st. patrick in albany at the 

hotel ten eyck, march 17, 1905. 



I'« 




Class. 



V 1^3 



Book__AAJlli 



[From The Argus, Albany, N. Y., March 26, 1905.] 

THE FRIENDLY SONS OF ST. PATRICK IN ALBANY 



Hon. Franklin M. Danaher, whose in- 
terest in the local history of our good old 
Dutch city is a deep and abiding one, 
read a paper of more than ordinary in- 
terest at the St. Patricli's day banquet 
of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick at the 
Hotel Ten Eyck on March 17, 1905. Judge 
Danaher' s paper, which gave great pleas- 
ure and satisfaction to all who were so 
fortunate as to be present on this occa- 
sion, was an account of some celebra- 
tions of St. Patrick's day in the early days 
of the nineteenth century. The paper 
shows careful, painstaliing research and a 
thorough knowledge of Irish history and 
the influence of Irish character in 
America. 

Judge Danaher's Paper. 

Tlae reading of a paper at a St. Patrick's 
day dinner about Ireland in America, 
with a request that the topic be treated 
seriously, even at the expense of the 
guest who comes to the banquet to be 
amused and not instructed, is not unusual 
in these days. It is an evidence of an 
advance in the significance of the cele- 
brations and makes more apparent that 
there is a new Ireland in the twentieth 
century America, composed of those who 
are three or four generations removed 
fiom tlie "Erin Mavourneen" of their 
fathers and grand sires, who have as- 
similated to everytMng that is good and 
progressive and patriotic in American 
life, to whom the Ireland acrtss the water 
and. the story of its wrongs becomes moie 
of a tradition as the years roll on, to 
which, however, they cling with a tenac- 
ity of affection that is characteristic and 
a soul-ins|>iring example of fatherland 
worship. This new Ireland, replete with 
the history of the old, asks with increas- 
ing pertinacity to know the story of what 
has been done by the Irish in America 
towards tlie upbuilding of this great re- 
public and in aid of liberty and consti- 
tutional government and of the equ:^lity 
of all before the law; for freedom of 
speech and of worship; for the right of 
each to work out his own salvation with- 
out let or hindrance; for a country where 
there are no classes or masses, and where 
the son of toil born in the hut has equal 
opportunity with the child of wealth to 
acquire all the emoluments and honor 
that can be bestowed upon good citizen- 
ship, and to resip the benefits of well- 
directed and persistent labor. 

Sons of Erin Interested. 

This growing inquiry by the American 
Irishman of to-day into the history of the 
past achievements of the Irish in America 



has physiological value as denoting the 
more complete blending of the Sons of St. 
Patrick in the composite mass which goes 
toward making up the true type of the 
American citizen, it is indicative of the 
lengthening of the ch^iin which binds 
the old and the new; an unconscious 
recognition of the process of amalgama- 
tion and an approval of its results, with 
no desire to retard the consummation, but 
with a determination that the true value 
of the pure Celtic metal that enters into 
the finished product of American citizen- 
ship shall be ascertained and the share 
Ireland's sons have had in laying the 
foundations of our great fabric of consti- 
tutional liberty shall be known and ap- 
preciated by the world, including among 
the latter the detractors of Ireland and 
all things Irish. 

For Historical Research. 

This trend to make patent that the 
Irish have given value in blood, treasure, 
labor good citizenship and patriotic de- 
votion to the cause of liberty and progress 
for the glorious? heritage wh-ch they en- 
joy in the United States, and have been 
no insignificant factors in their achieve- 
ment, has been given impetus by the or- 
ganization of a national society, known 
as the American Irish Historical society. 

That society is devoted to the exploita- 
tion of the causes for which it was or- 
ganized—to destroy the Scotch-Irish myth 
as a harmful and unjustifiable creation, 
and to make known the achievements of 
all Irish-Americans, without regard to the 
religious, social or territorial differences 
which may have separated them in Ire- 
land, and to write on tlie bright pages of 
American history the deeds of valor and 
the sacrifices and the toils, of Ireland's 
sons for its benefit, even to the great but 
una,ppreciated work of the humble men of 
pick and shovel, who, in years past, 
delved that their adopted country might 
grow great. It has among its mem.bers 
the President of the United States, who 
has given to the society proof of his pride 
in his undoubted heritage of Irish blood 
and of his interest in its mission. It has 
Catholic and Protestant 'men of mark in 
every walk of life, true and patriotic citi- 
zens, who glory in their Irish descent, 
and who are determined to spread upon 
the national record, so that all may read, 
indubitable proof that the Irish are not 
the least among the many peoples who 
have made our country great and wise 
and beneficent among the nations of the 
earth. 

Irishmen of Early Albany. 

We were moved by considerations of 
our membership in it to write, some time 
ago, of the Irish in old Albany; ti;e 



butch Albany of the Van Rensselaera 
and Schuylers, where they were aliens 
in blood, language and religion, and of 
the humble but not Inconspicuous part 
they had in its affairs for 200 years and 
more particularly of the undue proportion 
of brave and patriotic Irishmen of Al- 
bany 'Who, in the times that tried men's 
souls, bore arms on imany a battlefleld 
•which they hallowed with their blood, and 
-who died that the republic might live. 
To-night we will treat of the Friendly 
Sons of iSt. Patrick and of St. Patrick's 
day celebrations in Albany in the early 
part of the nineteenth century, when 
Irishmen were neither as powerful nor as 
numerous as they are in these later days, 
as fully as the meagre records of the 
times will permit us to do, as an ad- 
ditional chapter in the history of the 
Irish in Albany which we hope, eventual- 
ly, 'Will be 'written. 

In estimating Irish achievement in col- 
onial America it must always be held in 
memory that the emigration of Catholic 
Irishmen to this country was never en- 
couraged, and tnat when it was allowed, 
it wa^ only as Redemptioners or through 
hostile English channels where by parlia- 
mentary enactment they were denational- 
ized eiven to a compulsory change of their 
iCeltic names to those of English ter- 
minology. 

For Freedom of Conscience. 

The drastic penal laiws of England di- 
rected against the free exercise of lib- 
erty of conscience in Ireland, drove the 
Irish 'Catholic gentlemen across the seas 
as "'Wild geese" to fight the battles of 
continental Europe, but they were also 
inimicable to the Irish Industries, so 
much so that trade and manufactures 
there were almost totally annihilated. 
The subject is too comprehensive for con- 
sideration here, except to make the relev- 
ant statement that the trade laws oper- 
ated upon all Irishmen alike regardless 
of religion and produced a poverty and 
discontent which drove many of both re- 
ligions to America. Irish emigration dur- 
ing the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, it is stated wa^ in the proportion 
of nine Irish emigrants to one of all other 
nations of Europe. While the bulk of this 
Immigration was Protestant no negligible 
proportion of it was Catholic, but the 
latter by forced "Contormation" and the 
lack of church facilities, soon lost their 
identity and became merged in the mass 
of citizens. 

It is now a conceded fact, however, 
that much of the character and brawn of 
the American colonist was Irish and that 
their influence and labor in the upbuild- 
ing of our country was great. This grows 
more apparent and better appreciated 
when through historical research the 
names of Erin's sons and of their chil- 
dren are recognized inscribed In letters 



of living light high upon the roll of honor 
of America's pioneers and patriots and 
among the greatest of its benefactors. 

St. Patrick's Lodges. 

In colonial days the Scotch-Irish, a 
non-existent breed which claims every 
Irishman of character or note, was not 
created, as the records of the time will 
show, and as is evidenced among 'many 
cognate examples by the existence to-day 
in Johnstown in this State of a Masonic 
lodge named after St. Patrick, which was 
organized in 1766 by Sir William Johnson, 
a native of the county Meath, who was 
its master, and by the now non-existent 
St. Patrick's Lodge No. 14, of Portsmouth, 
N. H., which was granted a charter by 
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on 
March 17, 1780. The New England troops 
of Irish descent in garrison at Fort Wil- 
liam Henry celebrated St. Patrick's day, 
1757, and all through those years, and es- 
pecially among the patriot forces during 
the Revolutionary war, St. Patrick's day 
was celebrated by banquets and toasts 
and distinguished by special counter- 
signs, parades and liberties for the Irish 
soldiers in camp. , 

All early Irish societies in America ap- 
pear to have been organized on a non- 
sectarian basis. Catholics and Protestants 
alike were eligible to membership, except 
in the case of the Charitable Irish Society 
which was organized in Boston on March 
17, 1737, which was limited to Protestants. 
That society is stiu in existence, with the 
religious disqualification of membership 
abrogated. It had the first recorded cele- 
bration of the day in America on March 
17, 1737, and to-day on the one hundredth 
and sixty-eighth anniversary of its 
foundation it is again honoring the day 
and the apostle of Ireland. 

Friendly Sons' History. 

The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. 
Patrick of Philadelphia was instituted 
March 17, 1771. 

The Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick of 
Charleston, S. C, celebrated March 17, 
1773. 

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in New 
York was founded on March 17, 1784. 

These early societies were composed ex- 
clusively of Irishmen or men of Irish 
descent who glorified in their American 
citizenship and were proud of their Irish 
blood. Their celebrations of the day were 
attended by the best and most distin- 
guished in the social, civil and military 
life of the nation, who paid tribute to the 
bravery and loyalty of the Irish in Amer- 
ica to the cause of liberty. 

Washington wrote to the Philadelphia 
society when he received its insig-nia and 
accepted an adoption therein, in 1781, as 
follows: "I accept with singular pleasure 
the ensign of so worthy a fraternity as 
the Sons of St. Patrick in this city— a so- 



ciety dl3tin&uiahed for the firm adherenca 
of its members to the glorious cause In 
which we are embarlced." 

Mr. John D. Crimmins, president of the 
Irish-American Historical Society, in his 
valuable work, "Early Celebrations of St. 
Patrick's Day," states that the St. Pat- 
rick's day banquets of the Philadelphia 
society were attended by George Wash- 
ington, G-eneral Steuben, General Howe, 
General Moultrie, General Knox, General 
Hand, General Mcintosh, Mr. Luzerne, 
Major Washington, Count Dillon, Count 
De L.a Touche, General Lincoln, General 
Dickinson, the president of Congress, 
Hon. Ellas Boudinot, Chief Justice 
Thomas McKean, General Cadwalader, 
General McDougall— we cannot give the 
names of all, for while they are an in- 
spiration and instructive, they are not 
germane to my task of Albany, to which 
I must now proceed. 

Albany's Irish Emigrants. 

After the war of the Revolution ceased 
and the Indians imade less hostile, there 
came a period oif national expansion which 
evidenced itself in the wild desire among 
.those east to emigrate to the distant 
west, to start life anew amid its dense 
forests and to till its virgin soil. Albany 
was then che frontier city o.f America, 
"the gateway," in the direction of this 
migratory trend, and one early Albany 
chronicler notes the manv Iiundreds of 
emigrant ■wagon.-g pass/ng through the 
city daily from fNew England seeking the 
great wilderne.ss of the west, which was 
then a little beyond Utica in this State. 
This condition brought to Albany trade 
and wealth and consequent increase in 
population, among whom, of course, was 
the ubiquitous Irishman. As early as 1796 
they became strong enough to incorporate 
the present St. 'Mary's church. "VVhlle 
there is no I'ecord extant of a celebration 
of St. Patrick's day as early as 1796, in 
view of tne fact that the leading hotel 
in Albany, which 'was the meeting place 
of the Albany patriots during the Revolu- 
tion, and where Washington was a guest 
in 1782 and 17S3. was owned and kept by 
Hugh Denniston, a patriotic as Tvell as a 
loyal Irish American, it is not too remote 
to speculate that the few Irishmen in Al- 
bany met at dinner on that day at Den- 
niston's h6tel, on the corner of Beaver 
and Green streets, and drowned the 
shamrock in libations and toasts which 
"were redolent of sentiment for the dear 
old sod and not unimindful of the land of 
their adoption. 

"St. Patrick Crossing the Ice." 

In the Albany Register of March 17, 
1802, we find a reference to St. Patrick's 
crossing the ice on March 17. That local- 
ism, upwards of a century old, whictJ 
measured the length and severity of O'ur 
winter by the alnlity o'f the river ice to 



bear a person crossing the same as late 
as iMarch 17, was in much more frequent 
use a few years ago than now. 

It is quite evident that in the early days 
many gibes and insults 'were offered to 
Irishmen on St. Patrick's Day. It was an 
almost universal custom, not limited to 
Alljany, early on the morning of March 
17, to find on the streets or suspended in 
mid-air stuffed effigies of Irishmen and 
placards with scurrilous epithets which 
the iSons of Erin with much characteristic 
heat would proceed to remove. This at 
times was attended with some disorder. 
The practice did not die out in Albany 
until the early fifties, for at a dinner in 
celebration of the day held at the Man- 
sion house in this city on March 17, 1853, 
the fact that no effigies had been dis- 
played was noted and taken as an evi- 
dence of a better appreciation of the Irish 
people and of an era of good feeling. 

For Relief of the Emigrants. 

In 1807, the Irishmen of Albany were 
numerous enough to 'warrant the passing 
of an act of the legislature incorporating 
Daniel Campbell and his associates as a 
society to afford relief to indigent and 
distressed emigrants from the Kingdom 
of Ireland, which is Indicative of the ar- 
rival in Albany of Irishmen heyond the 
ability of the then trade and labor con- 
ditions CO care for. This society was 
known as the iSt. Patrick's Society in the 
city of Albany. iNeither the legislative 
act nor the journals of the Senate or As- 
sembly state ■who the associates were, and 
thus far we have been unable to find an 
account of the proceedings and attend- 
ance at the time the society was organ- 
ized. It -was composed of all the Irish- 
men in the city and evidentally without 
regard to religious convictions. It al'ways 
celebrated the day by observances which 
were formal, dignified and noteworthy, 
and which bear testimony that the status 
of the Irishman In Al'bany In those days 
was of the best, for the most distin- 
guished of the citizens of the State in 
social as well as political life attended 
these anniversary banquets and gave ex- 
pression to their sentiments of deep re- 
spect for the memory of St. Patrick, hope 
for Ireland's ultimate freedom from Eng- 
lish misrule, praise for the good qualities 
of their Irish-American fellow citizens 
and for the love of their adopted coun- 
try. This was the more rcTnarkable and 
the more to be appreciated, when we con- 
.=ider the times and the fact that there 
was then among us an aristocracy which 
was a recognized factor in puiblic life, and 
that there was then a distinct cleavage 
along those lines among the people of 
this State. 

First Celebration. 

The first celebration of the day In Al- 
bany, of record, was held by the St. Pat- 
rick's Society, at Its first annual meet- 
ing hel4 On (March 17, 1807, a few weeks 



after its incorporation. The accounts of 
the 'meeting are meagre and no names 
are given of those in attendance. The 
officers of the society were elected and a 
special dinner prepared for the occasion 
was partaken of, at which twenty formal, 
patriotic toasts were drank in honor of 
the day and the occasion. They were re- 
plete in their expression of unbounded de- 
votion to the principles and practices of 
our government and to its men in au- 
thority and of hostility to England and 
all things English. 

We can learn nothing concerning the 
celebration of March 17, 1S08. We as.S'ume 
from what was done in 1S07 and in the 
years thereafter that the society honored 
the day according to its custom by ban- 
quet, song and toast. In those days pub- 
lic dinners, given on special occasions or 
to commemorate some important event, 
were formal and ceremonious to a degree, 
and one much like unto another. As we 
cannot go into the details of all the cele- 
brations, we have selected the one of 
March 17, 1809, as typical of the times and 
of the men of Ireland in Albany in those 
■days, and will relate the proceedings of 
the event to show its distinguished char- 
acter, the dignified procedure of the old 
time banquet, the patriotic toasts formal- 
ly presented with their appropriate music,, 
as well as the character and the quality 
of the non-Irish guests who participated 
and did honor to the glorious memory of 
Ireland's patron saint. 

The anniversary meeting of the Sons of 
St. Patrick was held on March 17, 1809. 
at Mr. George Hewson'.<5. in Court street, 
now 'South Broadway. The society elected 
the following officers: James Maher, 
president: Josiah Kerr, vice-president; 
Andrew iFagan, secretary; 'Samuel Edgar, 
treasurer, and John Kearney and Cor- 
nelius Dunn, ste'wards. 

'After the election the society partook 
of an elegant entertainment prepared by 
Mr. 'Hewson, at which toasts were drank, 
excellent and appropriate songs sung, 
and in the language of the chronicler "the 
evening passed away -with harmony, pro- 
priety and social glee and good humor, 
for 'Which the iSons of St. Patrick have 
even been distinguished." 

Distinguished Guests. 

The banquet 'was honored by the pres- 
ence of a most distinguished company of 
guests; the best in the State then were 
none too good to do honor to St. Patrick, 
as a hurried consideration of some of 
the men present thereat will make evi- 
dent. 

Among them were iHis Excellency Hon. 
Daniel D. Tompkins, jurist, statesiman. 
Governor of the State and subsequently 
vice-president of the United States; 'Hon. 
DesWitt Clinton, the grand.son of a County 
Ijongford Irishman, statesman. Governor, 
senator and builder of the Erie canal; 
Thomas Addis E.mmet, of iNew York, a 
distinguished Iri.sh patriot, a refugee of 



'98, brother of the immortal Robert Em- 
met, a great lawyer and subsequently at- 
torney-general; Judge Tayler, one of 
Albany's leading citizens; Mr. Cooper, 
Albany's representative in the Legisla- 
ture; Mr. Denniston, the foremost Irish- 
AmericanJiin the city and man of prop- 
erty; fWillia.m James, a bu?^iness man of 
.'Albany, after whom James street is 
nan^ed, one of the dozen millionaires then 
in America, and ancestor of Henry James, 
the novelist; Mr. Solo'mon Southwick, edi- 
tor, political writer, state politician, 
friend of Aaron Burr, and ancestor of our 
present congressman; Major Vernor, of 
the army of the Revolution, and others 
of local fa.me, whom the following toast 
list of the occasion "will disclose. 

Toasts. 

1. The Day— May th( next return of it 
witness our oppressed and insulted coun- 
trymen on the other side of the Atlantic 
celebrating it under their own vines and 
fig trees, unawed by hirelings or persecu- 
tors. "Patrick's Day." 

2. The Land We Left— Too long have its 
green fields been clotted with the blood of 
its best children; as the -most noxious 
weeds produce the best manure — may the 
destruction of its oppressors enrich the 
soil which they have despoiled and 
desolated. "Poor Ireland's Cup of Misery 
Flows." 

3. The Lahd We Live In— The only bril- 
liant gem in the zone of liberty — may the 
internal traitors and hypocrites who 
would deface its lustre, be stripped of 
their masks and exposed to the indigna- 
tion and scorn of a free and insulted peo- 
ple. "Yankee Doodle." 

4. Irish Martyrs from the Robbery of 
Henry the 11, to the Present Hour— Peace 
to your manes, ye departed heroes, may 
your memory warm the breast of every 
honest Irishman and. be his incentive to 
rescue his country from the iron grip of 
the barbarian who oppresses it. "How 
Sleep the Brave." 

5. The American Heroes and Sages of 
1776 — May their glorious example be imi- 
tated by their successors, that they may 
transmit to their iposterity the rich in- 
heritance, purchased with the blood of 
their fathers, pure and unsullied. "Gen. 
Warren's Death." 

6. Thomas Jefferson, the Enlightened 
Statesman and Firm Patriot — May his re- 
tirement from the busy scenes of public 
life be solaced by the reflections that his 
virtuous conduct has ensured him the ap- 
probation of his own conscience and the 
esteem and affection of his fellow citi- 
zens. "Jefferson's March." 

7. The Triumph of Principle; the Elec- 
tion of the 4th of March— America on this 
day presents a proud spectacle to an ad- 
miring world, a citizen chosen by the 
united suffrage of a free people — to fill the 
highest post in their power to bestow — 
may James Madison continue to enjoy as 
he has hitherto deserved, the confidence 



of his fellow citizens. "(Madison's March." 

8. George Clinton— The veteran defender 
of his country's liberties— the gratitude 
and affection of his fellow citizens, his 
rich reward. "President's March." 

9. The Memory of Washington— May 
his na.me be no longer prostituted to base 
purposes by the domestic enemies of the 
country, of which it may be truly said 
he was the political father. 

10. National Prejudice— The bane of na- 
tional liberty. 

11. War — M'^hen our comimon country is 
assailed may we forget the bickerings of 
party, and be all Americans. "Hail 
Columbia." 

12. The Patriotic Charitable Societies of 
the United States — May their funds never 
fail, their judgment in dispensing charity 
never be erroneous and their emulation 
which shall best promote the interests of 
humanity. 

13. The Memories of the Benevolent 
Howard — ^The man who devoted his life to 
ameliorate the condition of the incar- 
cerated, unfortunate. 

14. Agriculture and Manufactures. The 
Butments of Our Prosperitj' — May the 
tyrant of faction never sap their f ound i- 
tion nor the storms of foi'eign influence 
destroy their beneficial effects. "Speed 
the Plow." 

15. The Volunteer Defenders of Our 
Country's Rights— May they never desert 
their posts, and may they prove to the 
surrounding vultures who seem waiting- 
to devour us, that the front of a band 
of freemen is impenetrable to the Myrmid- 
ons of a despot. 

16. The Native and Adopted Citizens of 
America— May the former cherish the lat- 
ter, and justly appreciate their value; 
and may the latter cultivate and deserve 
the esteem of their hospitable patrons. 
"True Hospitality." 

17. The Fair Sex— May their frowns pun- 
ish the enemies of Liberty and their 
smiles reward its advocates and de- 
fenders. 

Volunteers. 

By His Excellency the Governor: The 
Sacred Principles of Liberty and Patriot- 
ism; may those who have suffered in 
their support ever enjoy the esteem of 
freemen. 

By Hon. DeWitt Clinton: The Perse- 
cuted Patriots of Ireland Who Have Emi- 
grated to the United States; may they 
enjoy that liberty and happiness in their 
adopted, which was unjustly denied them 
in their native, country. 

By Mr. Taylor: May the Sons of Erin 
in every part of the globe receive that 
friendship and hospitality that the Repub- 
licans of America would cheerfully offer 
them. 

By Mr. Cooper: Humanit.v and Patriot- 
ism, permanent attributes of the Society 
of the Sons of St. Patrick. 

By Mr. Thomas Addis Emmet: The 
Land of Saints purged from sinners. 

By. iMr. Dennijston: May the oppres.=ed 



patriots of Ireland never be deprived of 
an asylum in America. 

By Mr. James: Hibernian Americans; to 
the virtues of their native country, gen- 
erosity, bene'volence and hospitality, may 
thejr unite the peculiar characteristics of 
their adopted country, temperance 
knowledge and enterprise. 

iMr. Southwick: To the memory of OVIr. 
Edward Fitzgerald and his fellow mar- 
tyrs in the cause of Irish union, inde- 
pendence and liberty. 

By iMr. Thomas: The true sons of Erin, 
whose errors, if they commit any, spring 
from an excess of the noblest of human 
virtues, bravery and generosity. 

By Captain Noon: The American eagle, 
■with a sprig of "'shillalagh" in his talons 
to punish foreign aggression or domestic 
treason. 

By Mr. Ennis: The green fields of Ire- 
land; may their verdure soon cease to be 
tinted with the orange hue. 

By Mr. Kerr: The repoiblicans of the 
■world, and God our only King. 

By 'Mr. James Maher: The shamrock; 
may the frost of aristrocracy, which h;is 
so long retarded its growth, be speedily 
dispelled by the cheering and enlivening 
sunbeams of freedom. 

By Mr. Duffey: His Britannic majesty's 
disease to the enemies of humanity all 
over the glotoe. 

By. Mr. McKiernan: An eternal oblivion 
to all past animosities in the breasts of 
freemen. 

By. Mr. John 'Maher: Our political hori- 
zon, gilded by the rising sun; may his 
beams occasion republicanism to flourish 
with renewed vigor. 

By IMr. MciCabe: Union among republi- 
cans. 

By Mr. Dawson: iMay the enemies of St. 
Patrick be, in reality, what they repre- 
sented hinn in the morning— a bundle ot 
rags. 

By Mr. Glen: The Englishmen of the 
city of Albany; may they imitate their re- 
publican countrymen. 

By Mr. Patterson: 'May the people or 
the United States preserve their liberties 
unmarred to the end of time. 

By Major Vernor: May the sons of Erin 
never permit the grasp'ng hand of a 
tyrant to Qppress them, without spirit to 
resist it. 

After the Governor had retired: iHis Ex- 
cellency Daniel D. To.mpkins, the farm- 
er's son; may his public and social vir- 
tues long continue to adorn the chair of 
this 'State. 

After Mr. Clinton had retired: The Hon. 
DeWitt Clinton, the distinguished and 
undaunted patriot; may the envenomed 
shafts of envj' and malevolence which are 
directed against him, serve no other pm 
pose than to endear him the more to a 
grateful people. 

After Judge Tayler had ret-red: Judge 
Tayler, the friend of freedom, grown gray 
in his country's service; may his lamp 
burn bright until it expires, and the ap- 
probation of his fellO'W citizens cheer him 
to the close of an honorable career. 

After Mr. Emmet had retired: Thomas 



A. Emmet, Esq., the persecuted patriot, 
may he long- continue to enjoy the pat- 
ronage and esteem of an enlightened com- 
munity, to 'Which his transcendant talents 
and virtues eminently entitle him. 

After Mr. Cooper had retired: Francis 
Cooper, Esq., and the advocates of Our 
country s liberties in our State Legisla- 
ture. 

After the Sheriff had retired: The Re- 
publican editors of the United States; 
may the support and approbation of tlieir 
fellow citizens be their recompense. 

Other St. Patrick's Days. 

In 1810, Gawin Patterson was elected 
president of the .society; Josiah Kerr, 
first vice-president; Patrick Matthews, 
second vice-president ;and Andrew Fagan, 
secretary. 

They had an elegant entertainment pre- 
pared by Mr. George Hewson on Court 
street. Seventeen toasts were drank, 
similar to those of the 1809 celebration, 
full of patriotism and so interesting 
in character, it is to be regretted 
that our limited time will not per- 
mit us to set them forth in full, after 
which volunteer toasts were responded to 
by DeWiti Clinton, Judge Tayler, Thomas 
Addis Emmet, of New York; EUsha 
Dorr, Mr. Bryan, Elijah Thomas, Captain 
Mills, a distinguished soldier, whose re- 
mains were recently given State burial; 
Tho'mas Trenor, Major Vernor, Philip S. 
Van Rensselaer, the mayor of the city 
of Albany, and General Jonas Piatt, a 
brilliant and distinguished company re- 
flecting credit and honor upon the day 
and the Irish in Albany. In 1811, the 
celebration was held at Mr. Skinner's on 
Beaver street, which was attended not 
only by the Governor but by the mayor 
of the city of New York, and Thomas 
Addis Emmet, Judge Tayler and many 
other distinguished citizens. 

Mayor of New York Came. 

In those days the mayor of the city of 
New York, next to the President, was 
the most important and influential public 
ofl^cer in the United States, so much so, 
that DeWitt Clinton in 1804, resigned as 
United States senator to accept office as 
mayor of the city of New York, and in 
view of the discomforts of a three hun- 
dred mile stage coach journey from New 
York to Albany and return, in March, 
1810, which his attendance required, the 
Irishmen of the then Albany, must have 
been worthy as well as forceful enough 
to warrant him coming to their Patrick 
day celebration at so great a sacrifice of 
time and comfort. In 1812, the celebration 
was had at Mr. Ladd's in Beaver street. 
It was attended by the Governor, Mr. 
Hugh Denniston, Mr. Townsend, Mr. Do?:, 
James H. F. Yates, Hugh Flyn, Cornelius 
Dunn, John Maher, Judge Tayler, Mr. 
William James, John D. Byrne and Major 
Noon, all of whom responded to toasts. 



In 1813, the celebration was had at Mr. 
Ladd's Albany Coffee House. At this 
meeting Mr. John Cassidy, the ancestor 
of the oldest Irish family in Albany and 
who came here in 1780, was elected vice- 
president of the society. In 1814, the cele- 
bration w^s liad at Ladd's Coffee House 
again. We cannot give, for want of time 
and space, the names of those who after 
this time attended the celebrations, except 
in special instances, nor the toasts nor 
responses. 

During War of 1812. 

The war of 1812 was then on and Irish 
devotion to the cause for which their 
adopted coumtry was fighting and their 
hatred of England was plainly indicated 
in the sentiments of the toasts, both 
formal and volunteer, offered upon the oc- 
casion. One toast proposed by Mr. L. 
Keenan, "The Officers and Soldiers of the 
Albany Republican Greens— They Did 
Their Duty, No Holiday Soldiers," was to 
the first distinctive Irish militarj' com- 
pany in Albany which was organized for 
active military service in the war of 1812. 
It had a distinguished record and was 
the forerunner of many similar com- 
panies. 

In 1815, the day was celebrated at Ladd's 
tavern, John Cassidy being elected pi-esi- 
dent of the society. In ISlfi, the anni- 
versary dinner was had at Mr. Bement's 
Albany Coffee House. In 1817, the banquet 
was held at Benjamin's Hotel, on Wash- 
ington street. The chroniclers of the 
time state that the repast was elegant, 
the attendance large, the guests numer- 
ous and distinguished and from all parts 
of the State. 

Another Notable Celebration, 

Toasts were responded to by DeWitt 
Clinton, the Governor of the State, hi.s 
Honor Elisha Jenkins, the mayor and 
Philip S. Parker, recorder of the city of 
Albany; Hon. Cornelius lleeney, of New 
York, who was John Jacob Astor's part- 
ner in the fur trade, and the then richest 
Catholic Irishman in America; Sheriff 
Hem'psted, Dr. fM'CNevin, the Irish pa- 
triot whose tomb erected as a public 
tribute is in St. Paul's churchyard in the 
city of New York; the Rev. Dr. Gorman. 
Isaac Denniston, Esq., William James, 
Esq., Solomon Southwick, Esq., Col. Vis- 
i'cher, a veteran of the Revolution; Jesse 
Buel, Esq., the founder and first editor 
of the Albany Argus; Justice Rudes, 
Justice Vernor. William Kearney, Major 
Noon, Captain 'Maher, a gallant Irish sol- 
dier in the 'wav of 1812 and commandant 
of the "Republican Greens:" John I. 
Vanderpool, William Cahill, Lieutenant 
•Cole, Thomas Donnelly, Mr. Moakler, J. 
Duffie, H. Cagger, Thomas Lyons, Mr. 
Skaats, Mr. Rosier, Simon Toole, Horatio 



'Merchant, Thomas Doyle, Mr. O'Shaugr- 
nessy, Bernard O'Connor and R. Duncan. 

National airs were sung by the gruests 
accompanied with appropriate music by 
the Albany band under the direction of 
.Mr. Moore, and at the announcement of 
each toast brilliant fireworks and rockets 
were set off by Mr. Buckminister in honor 
of the "national jubilee." 

The names of those who were present 
at that celebration in honor of St, Pat- 
rick are impressive to a degree. To those 
who know of the men and the times it 
is proof conclusive that the Irish people 
then in Albany -were worthy socially and 
morally; that they 'were influential and 
had a general standing much beyond that 
which their numbers and wealth would 
warrant if they were other than what 
they were. 

The Erie Canal Opening Parade. 

In this blaze of glory 'we will for the 
present leave these Sons of St. Patrick 
of the past century and the Society of 
St. Patrick in Albany except to state that 
the society in 1825 was in the parade in 
celebration of the completion of the Erie 
canal. 

It is not within the purview of our pa- 
per to write further on the subject, ex- 
cept that to say that the Hibernian Pro- 
vident Society organized in 1833, took up 
the pleasurable duty of honoring the day 
in 1834, as did a society known as the 
•'Friends of Ireland in Albany"— the city 
wltnessinj that year a double celebra- 
tion. 

From th. time on, 'March 17th, was cel- 
ebrated in each year by the loyal Sons 
of St. Patrick in Atbany with increasing 
enthusiasm, by parades, banquets, speech- 
making and religious observances, when 
the story of Ireland's wrongs was re- 
hearsed, acknowledgment made of the 
gladso'me light of liberty and freedom of 
conscience in America, and due tribute 
paid to the great saint in whose honor 
they met The early celebrations of the 
day were more pronounced in their ex- 
pression of hatred of England than those 
of our time. That arose out of national 
conditions. The American people, which 
then included njany of the survivors of 
the Revolutionary war, were as intense 



in their dislike o.f England as were th«! 
majority of the then Irish American citi- 
zens. The sufferings of the patriots of 
1776, the incited Indian massacres, the de- 
struction of property and the bloody rec- 
ord of those dark days, were intensified 
by the war of 1812, and the Ainer.can soil 
pregnant with this feeling, welcomed the 
Irish refugees of 1798 and joined with 
them in denunciation of England and in 
their hope for the ultimate freedom of 
Erin fr»m British misrule and tyranny. 

Cause for Pride. 

'We have reason to be proud of our 
brethren of Albany in the early part of 
the nineteenth century, and our present 
society snould endeavor to emulate their 
example and broaden our horizon as well 
as our influence, by welcoming all Irish- 
men who love Ireland and hope for its 
freedom, and all lovers of liberty re- 
gardless of race or creed, to our festive 
board to do honor to the patron saint of 
a land which has fought th2 good fight 
and kept ablaze the sacred fires of liberty 
tor over seven centuries. 

'We must not underrate the powerful in- 
fluence of St. Patrick's day celebrations 
in that result and in keeping alive senti- 
ment in America for Ireland, for the re- 
dress of its wrongs and in bringing about 
changed and better conditions in that un- 
fortunate country. Whether England will 
grant Ireland home rule or not, whether 
it will, in the near future, take its place 
among the nations of the earth, when 
the epitaph of the immortal E'mmet can 
00 written, whether under the beneficent 
folds of its green flag, inscribed with the 
golden words "Liberty and Independ- 
ence," the people of a united Ireland as 
their awn masters will grow stronger, 
better and richer, time alone can tell. 
But when these things do happen, as 
under God's providence they surely will, 
it will have been made possible onlj' by 
the teachings and examples of Ireland's 
patron saint, and by the devotion of his 
sons, who, in whatsoever clime they may 
be, keep his memory green and the rec- 
ollection of Ireland's wrongs in mind, by 
the universal celebration of March 17, St. 
Patrick's day, the day of days for all true 
Irishmen. 



